Time Merchant

Chapter 6: The Memory Corridor

At the end of the steam pipe, blinding white light swallowed Edwin's vision. He reached for Lin Xia instinctively, only to clutch a wisp of cold air.

"Lin Xia?"

No response.

When the light cleared, he stood in an infinitely stretching corridor. Countless doors lined both sides, each hovering with a holographic clock displaying different eras: 1889. Paris, 2204. Neo-Kyoto, 1347. Hangzhou...

At the corridor's end, a woman in a white lab coat faced away, adjusting a massive metal device. Blood stained the hem of her coat, and her long hair was haphazardly tied, revealing familiar golden patterns on her neck—identical to Lin Xia's.

"Welcome to the Memory Corridor, Edwin Carter," her voice was a cold mechanical synthesis. "I am Dr. Irene, lead researcher of the Chronos Committee."

As she turned, Edwin's blood froze—her face was an aged version of Lin Xia's.

"Don't worry, I'm not her," Dr. Irene smiled, the curve of her lips uncomfortably precise. "All female time merchants share a genetic template cloned from the original Lin Mingyue." She rapped the metal device beside her. "Like this."

At its core, a brain floated in liquid, countless optical fibers connected to its cortex. When Edwin's watch neared, the brain twitched violently, rippling the liquid.

"Your father's memory center," Dr. Irene said softly. "We salvaged the most precious parts before he died."

Edwin's fist slammed into the glass. "What did you do to him?!"

"He volunteered." Dr. Irene pressed a button, and the corridor walls turned transparent, revealing a vast star sea outside. "To stop Lin Mingyue from activating the Eternal Vault, he encoded his memories into time anchors, forming a blockade."

Countless glowing chains materialized in the stars, weaving a giant net. At its center spun a hourglass-shaped black hole.

"Eternal Vault," Edwin murmured.

Dr. Irene suddenly seized his wrist, pressing his watch to the device. "Want the truth? See for yourself."

A torrent of memories surged:

Young Carter furiously calculated in Oxford's lab, chalk dust flying as he sketched twin watch blueprints on the blackboard, titled Time-Space Symbiosis Theory.

"If two watch bearers' memories form a quantum entanglement," he told Lin Mingyue in her cheongsam, "their consciousnesses can protect each other during jumps."

Lin Mingyue shook her head, a copper lotus hairpin trembling in her black hair. "But at what cost? You know the Chronos Committee won't allow—"

An explosion. Lab doors burst open, gray-uniformed soldiers flooding in. Carter shoved a watch into Lin Mingyue's hand. "Find the Clockmaker! Remember, only the 'twins' can—"

Memories skipped.

In a dark cell, a younger Dr. Irene attached electrodes to Carter's temples. "Why sacrifice yourself? You could have joined the Committee."

Carter coughed blood, smiling. "Because you'll never understand... time's true value isn't control, it's—"

The final image: Carter strapped to a metal chair, watching Dr. Irene activate a memory extractor. His pupils dimmed, but his lips formed silent words: "Find Edwin..."

Edwin staggered back, memory shocks pounding his head. Dr. Irene's voice echoed distantly: "Funny—your father never knew Lin Mingyue was pregnant."

"What?"

"Lin Xia isn't Lin Mingyue's daughter." Dr. Irene's fingertip glided over the device, pulling up a blurry video—young Lin Mingyue lying on an operating table, belly swollen. "She's your twin sister."

Holograms showed Lin Mingyue giving birth in flight, only able to save one infant. The Committee took the baby girl, transforming her into "Lin Xia," while Carter fled with the baby boy—Edwin—into the ordinary timeline.

"Your watches attract each other not by romantic fate," Dr. Irene sneered. "They're two halves of the same watch."

Edwin's watch vibrated wildly, springing open to reveal inscribed text:

When twins reunite, the Eternal Vault shall open.

The corridor began collapsing. Dr. Irene's figure flickered. "Lin Xia must be here." She hit an emergency button. "One last gift."

Agony seared Edwin's neck, like a branding iron. He felt raised metal patterns under his skin—identical time brands to Lin Xia's, but shaped like an ouroboros coiling a watch.

"You're a test subject now." Dr. Irene's voice faded. "Go to the Eternal Vault, see what your parents died to protect..."

In the final moment, Lin Xia's voice pierced the mist: "Edwin! Take my hand!"

The instant her fingertips touched his, the Memory Corridor exploded into stars.